AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, August 23, 2004
Staff Medical Writers

"Costimulation of purified CD8+ T lymphocytes induces de novo expression of CD4, suggesting a previously unrecognized function for this molecule in the immune response," wrote scientists in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

"Here, we report that the CD4 molecule plays a direct role in CD8+ T cell function by modulating expression of IFN-gamma and Fas ligand, two important CD8+ T cell effector molecules," said S.G. Kitchen and coworkers.

The authors continued, "CD4 expression also allows infection of CD8 cells by HIV, which results in down-regulation of the CD4 molecule and impairs the induction of IFN-gamma, Fas ligand, and the cytotoxic responses of activated CD8+ T cells."

"Thus," Kitchen concluded, "the CD4 molecule plays a direct role in CD8 T cell function, and infection of these cells by HIV provides an additional reservoir for the virus and also may contribute to the immunodeficiency seen in HIV disease."

Kitchen and colleagues published their study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (CD4 on CD8+ T cells directly enhances effector function and is a target for HIV infection. Proc Nat Acad Sci Usa, 2004;101(23):8727-8732).

Additional information can be obtained by contacting J.A. Zack, University of California Los Angeles, AIDS Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, 11-934 Factor Bldg, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA.

The publisher of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America can be contacted at: National Academy Sciences, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20418 USA.

The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Immunology and HIV/AIDS.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

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